Einleitung

My 2005 Touareg has been putting off a smell of gas that's becoming more and more noticable. When my Touareg is parked in the garage overnight, it was making the whole garage smell of gas fumes. Even when entering the car in an open parking lot, I could smell gas around the driver's side rear door.

I did some homework and found several people talking about gas smells coming from their Touaregs.

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Using a T30 Torx driver, remove the bolt that secures the clip in place.

Remove the clip. Do this by rotating the clip toward the front of the car - don't worry if you can't get it completely out. You can remove the clip after the left seatback is removed. Just be sure you can get the left seatback loose.

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To accomplish this, the seatback needs to be free of the mounting bracket toward the inside of the car (see previous step).

The seat needs to lean forward then pushed toward the center of the car to release it from the side of the vehicle.

See the pics to get an idea of the angle needed and what the mounting pin looks like on the side of the vehicle.

A couple important notes about my pictures:

The picture of the seatback leaning forward shows the seat bottom being used as a support - this was for the photo only to give you an idea of the angle. When removing the seatback, the seat bottom needs to be all the way forward.

The picture of the seat (removed from the vehicle) lets you see inside the hole that engages the mounting pin. There's a piece of plastic trim missing from this photo. My trim broke during a prior removal attempt...

I had a set from SK Tools that was very poor - the drivers were very loose when you put them in the bolt head you were trying to remove. They'd slip and strip the head of the bolt. Not recommended!

Please note that these triple square bolts are extremely tight and difficult to remove. It's not that their just tight, they have lock-tight or something on them that make them hard to remove all together. They don't just "break loose".

The official VW repair manual states these bolts are to be replaced and not re-used. VW part number for these: N 910 260 03. Available from World Impex.

For this step, I had a particular tool that is used to work with springs either releasing them or putting them back in place. One end has a hook and the other a Y tip on that end. I used the hook end that was able to go all the way to the base of the fuel filter and slide under the the black tension flap of the connector. Just a little pressure to lift outward with the hook i had and was easily able to pull up and pull the connector off. I can't imagine many would have this tool laying around as it is from my laser printer repair days. However, it made my life easy on this step. I was close to ripping it off in frustration.

The tool wasn't needed for me. I made note of the notch/tick mark where the guides went up to. Then i used a hammer and flat head screw driver and with two taps, knocked it lose. When installing the ring back, just taped back to notch it was on. I took a picture before hand. Originally, i was going to buy the tool but it was not in stock with any of the local dealerships and i needed to get this done.

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There are many connections on the assembly that will restrict you from pulling it out.

The first thing you'll run into are the electrical connections.

Pull these off and set them aside. They are going to fall into the tank. You may be able to rest them on something - or you may have to fish them out of the tank later if you lose track of them.

Notice how these connectors are installed so you can reinstall them later. One is polarized (meaning it can only attach in one direction) - the other is not. I suspect that the non-polarized connector can go on either way without harm - but I wouldn't chance it.

Pay attention to the direction it is when you take it off so you can reinstall it the same way later.

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You need to remove the fuel line indicated in the picture. This is the line that connects to the fuel filter assembly on the other end (and the other end is permanently attached to the fuel filter assembly).

Like all the other connections, this connector is removed by depressing the tab and pulling the fuel line off.

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I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this fantastic write-up! Helped me to diagnose the issue with my moms T-Reg without even lifting the rear seat up and then helped me to do the filter replacement in around 2.5 hours including pulling the seat backs out and re-installing.

It is great that you took the time while repairing yours to help us repair ours! The tool information was very helpful also.

Awesome guide, I'm about to undertake this project once I get the part. Went to base hobby shop to inspect undercarriage and decided to take the back seats out, and there it was...a cracked dome! I can't believe this vehicle has as many faults as it has cool features. Again Much Thanks and trust me, my laptop will be nearby when I tackle this in the very near future. DB, 05TREG 119k Oct2014

Wow! Thank you for such a great guide. You covered every little detail and there was no guess work. VW wanted $800 to do this and I was able to buy the parts and do it myself for about $150...Thanks again

Great write up! I'm ordering the parts to fix the gas leak/smell issue. Does anyone know the World Impex part for the passenger side assembly? Despite it seeming like no one has an issue with that side of the system I'd like to replace the white assembly on that side as well to avoid any future issues

Thanks for an awesome how to. Took me right to the problem that I could not find and made the task much easier on my 2005 Cayenne.

Something I did different is I removed the fuel reg (right side) first and disconnected the filter line. I tied a string to the line then removed the filter which pulled the string up out of the left side. Then tied the string to the new line and pulled the line through the left side. No fishing!

I had one problem. After completing the repair the car started for a couple seconds the died and did not restart. Eventually pulled the filter and found the pressure line from the fuel pump was off. Reattached and reassembled everything same no run problem and line off the filter again. Thought the connector was damaged/weak and looked for a fix. There is no fix except to replace the fuel pump . Found problem which is compression line clip was stuck open on one side. Popped it out with a screwdriver and all is well. Thank you for a great post!

Great job thank you for your efforts, saving me time and money. Every step was right on. I would add a bit of sting to the fuel line connecting the drivers side to passenger side. I makes pulling the new one through a snap.

On a 2008 VR6 and newer all the quick connects are all located on the filter side. No need to remove passenger side cover unless also changing the fuel pump. The filter is similar but different than the one pictured. Be sure to pull enough slack in the center seat belt prior to placing the seat back in the down position. It may lock-up and not allow it to move where you need it for removal and prevent return to upright. PITA to unbolt center belt when this occurs.

Once i installed everything. I hear sucking sound from fuel pump. I reinstalled twice with new gasket and still hear the sound. I've sound checked all connections. Is this sound normal or should it be quiet behind installing the metal covers?

Good idea to vacuum area around the pump and vent before any removal. Having any dust/dirt get in the tank could be very bad.

Also be very cautious where you do this job. If it's ok to work outside that's best. If you are in a typical house garage look out for ignition sources such as a gas water heater.

We don't want to learn that you launched yourself halfway into orbit trying to fix your gasoline leak. You will get gasoline out of the tank when you do this repair.

As stated in the OP run tank as low as possible before getting out the tools. Also wait as long as possible to let fuel pressure bleed off and wear eye protection. Gasoline will come out when you disconnect some of those hoses.

Good time to replace the fuel pump if your vehicle has some miles on it, say 70K +.

VW fuel pumps are notorious for failing at the worst possible time. Thinks 2 AM in a rain or snow storm.

On blowing fuses, recheck all the wiring connections on the pump. Likely one has been damaged and is shorting to metal.

Having removed the Gas Tank access cover in Step 10, I decided I may be able to save the cost of purchasing the filter AU$310 from VW (shipping delay too great from USA) by gluing a cover over the crack in the plastic dome. I used Dynasteel Plastic Tank Repair epoxy which is like a plasticine. There was no bonding despite thorough cleaning and roughing the surface. I spoke to the Australian agent and he agreed it will stick to only some plastics. I had a perfect mould of the dome showing all scratches. The Loctite rep could not offer any product that would stick to the plastic and resist petrol.

Step 8 - Only the front two 10mm triple square bolts needed to be removed as the seat belt bracket pivoted on the third bolt.

Step 11 – Being uncertain that the petrol leak was in fact coming from the filter housing, I did not have a filter unit when the cover was first removed. I felt there was too much petrol leaking to drive the car safely. Until I could obtain a filter assembly, I placed five pieces of rubber cut from an old car tube on top of the dome and tightened down the 4 bolts. It was trial and error to see how many pieces of rubber to use. Please do not use this a fix, as there is a chance the tank will move with respect to the car body, break the filter dome and cause a fire.

Step 15 – The connector removal is part of the junk plastic engineering throughout the car. By pushing on the back plate it does not always move the front tab with the retaining clip hole. If the back-plate breaks, remove the entire plate with a small needle nose pliers and use a small screwdriver from the side to lift the retaining tab.

Step 16 – Fortunately, the gasket had not detreated.

Step 18 – VW were reluctant to sell me the T10202 tool and if they could obtain approval to the sell the tool it was going to cost around US$70. The tool I borrowed from the local mechanic did not work. I was surprised both rings started to turn with one gentle tap with a hammer onto a large screwdriver. Before removing the ring, use a marker pen to record its position before removal so it can be tightened to around the same position (this assumes the gaskets are the same thickness).

Step 19 – Use small lengths of string to tie around each lead / pipe when removed and tie the other end to a nearby fixed item. This topped them from dropping into the tank. I marked the visible side of the non-polarized connector with a scratch.

Step 21 – Suggest you have a small cup to catch the petrol as there was more than my rag would hold.

Step 23 – Attach a string line at least 3 feet long to the removed fuel line. Secure the end so it does not fall into the gas tank. The string will be used as a draw-cord.

Step 24 – Remove the drawer cord string from the old filter pipe and attach it to the new pipe.

Step 25 -I found it easier to place the new filter orange gasket onto the fuel tank and slide the filter down the gasket as the lip at the bottom of the gasket got caught while inserting the filter assembly.

Step 34 – The electrical connector retaining square pin on the new filter was lower than on the original filter and I had to remove some plastic from the retaining tab.

Step 41 - The clip required some force to reinstall.

How can a car with so many good features have so many problems (all plastics, plastic button covers, warning speaker, display panels, drive shaft, door locks, rain water management, spare tyre, head light assembly retaining plastic and release clip, to name just some!)?

Thank you very much, Justin. This is an exceptionnally well made guide. I found it easy and intuitive to follow as I just fixed the same problem on my 2005 Tuareq. I did encounter the same initial problem as Louis Wilson described 08/26/2015 - one of the two clips on the bigger fuel line did not lock (and I didn't notice that) - and the same fix. After that, it works perfectly.

Beautiful! I cross-reference by reviewing various blog articles and youtube diy’s. Unfortunately I took a short cut and decided not to pull my rear seats like you mention. I took the short cut mentioned on a youtube video. It resulted in stripping the triple square bolt closest to the back seat edge on the driver’s side. Had I followed your steps carefully, I would have saved many hours and dollars of having to remove that bolt! Grinding with a dremel and drilling into it with various bits for hours!!!! Thank you for being so detailed and so caring for us who follow in your footsteps. Forgive me for not following you in every step.

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